2023, January 15: Morning Moon, Venus Targets Saturn

January 15, 2023: The thick crescent moon is near Spica before sunup.  After sundown, Venus moves closer to Saturn for a conjunction in a week.  Jupiter and Mars are in the evening sky as well.

Moon, Spica, Venus, December 9, 2020
Photo Caption – 2020, December 9: The crescent moon is over halfway up in the sky in the south-southeast. It is 3.3° to the upper right of Gamma Virginis (γ Vir, m = 3.4). It is above Spica and Venus.

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois:  Sunrise, 7:16 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:45 p.m. CST.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times for your location.  Times are calculated from the U.S. Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

The sunrise time is moving earlier every few days.  By month’s end the sun rises at 7:04 a.m. CST in Chicago.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot’s transit times, when it is in the center of the planet in the southern hemisphere: 1:58 UT, 11:54 UT, 21:49 UT. Convert the time to your time zone. In the US, subtract five hours for EST, six hours for CST, and so on.  Use a telescope to see the spot.  Times are from Sky & Telescope magazine.

Summaries of Current Sky Events

MARS OPPOSITION SUMMARY

SUMMARY FOR VENUS AS AN EVENING STAR

Here is today’s planet forecast:

Morning Sky

2023, January 15: Before sunup, the thick crescent moon is east of Spica and approaching the Scorpion’s classic pincers.
Chart Caption – 2023, January 15: Before sunup, the thick crescent moon is east of Spica and approaching the Scorpion’s classic pincers.

This morning a thick crescent moon, 46% illuminated, is over one-third of the way up in the south, 6.5° to the left of Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. The lunar orb is to the right of the Scorpion’s classic pincers, Zubeneschamali and Zubenelgenubi, now the brightest stars in Libra.

Mercury is climbing into the morning sky, rising 74 minutes before sunrise.  At forty-five minutes before sunup, it is less than 5° above the east-southeast horizon.  It is still rather dim, but visible through a binocular.  The planet appears higher and brighter during the next several days.

When Mercury and Venus move from the evening sky to a morning view, they retrograde.  Mercury’s retrograde continues through the 19th.  On that morning, it is over 6° above the horizon and over 13° to the left of the thin crescent moon.

Mercury reaches its greatest separation from the sun on the 30th, rising 86 minutes before the sun.  The best mornings for Mercury viewing occur starting on the 21st and lasting through the 26th, when the planet rises 93 minutes before the sun.  It is among the brightest stars in the sky at this hour on those mornings.  The planet’s altitude – height above the horizon – is low, less than 10°.  To see Mercury at its best, begin scouting for a location with a clear horizon toward the southeast

Beginning tomorrow, look for earthshine on the night portion of the moon.  Reflected sunlight from Earth’s oceans, clouds, and land gently illuminates the lunar night. 

The lunar orb is near the Scorpion’s southern claw during tomorrow’s morning twilight.

Evening Sky

2023, January 15: Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter are in the western sky after sundown.
Chart Caption – 2023, January 15: Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter are in the western sky after sundown.

After sundown, Venus is moving toward Saturn for a conjunction on the 22nd.  The Evening star is less than 10° up in the west-southwest at 45 minutes after sundown, 7.9° to the lower right of dimmer Saturn. Venus cuts the gap over 1° each evening.

After the conjunction with Saturn, Venus moves toward Jupiter that is over halfway up in the south-southwest.  Tonight, the gap is nearly 50° to the Jovian Giant.  Venus passes Jupiter on March 1st.

2023, January 15: During the early evening, Mars is in the east, to the upper left of Aldebaran.
Chart Caption – 2023, January 15: During the early evening, Mars is in the east, to the upper left of Aldebaran.

Farther eastward, Mars is over halfway up in the east, 8.5° to the upper left of Aldebaran, Taurus’ brightest star.  The Red Planet is slowing moving eastward after its retrograde ended a few evenings ago.  Now over a month after its opposition with the sun and closest approach to Earth, Mars is dimming as our world moves away from it.

2023, January 15: An hour after sunset, Mars appears in front of Taurus.
Chart Caption – 2023, January 15: An hour after sunset, Mars appears in front of Taurus.

As the sky darkens further, Taurus’ dimmer stars appear.  The Pleiades star cluster, resembling a miniature dipper, may initially catch your view.  They are spectacular through a binocular – a few dozen stars, resembling sapphires on the dark velvet of the sky.  From urban and suburban settings, a binocular is needed to see the Hyades star cluster – along with Aldebaran outlining the Bull’s head.  The horns are marked by Elnath and Zeta Tauri.

2023, January 15: Through a binocular, Mars is east of Deneb Algedi and 45 Capricorni (45 Cap).
Chart Caption – 2023, January 15: Through a binocular, Mars is east of Deneb Algedi and 45 Capricorni (45 Cap).

Look toward Saturn through the binocular.  It is plodding eastward in eastern Capricornus, near Deneb Algedi and dim 45 Capricorni (45 Cap on the chart).  The planet is 1.4° to the upper right of Deneb Algedi and 0.4° to the upper left of 45 Cap, noticeably east of both stars.

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